Countries in Full-Dive
by vastine
Summary: While the countries commenced with the usual world meeting between each other, Italy noticed that a certain friend, Japan, had been missing for hours. Soon enough, everyone else knew what was wrong. Worried that it had something to do with a certain RPG game Japan bought, along with a complex controller, they decide to join in and rescue him before it's too late. Semi-Hiatus.
1. Missing

_Hello, everyone. So this my very first story and even more, it's a crossover between Hetalia and Sword Art Online. I know SAO just as I know APH, since I've re-watched SAO for the second time just to refresh my memory of what it's about. _

_Now before you send reviews about how inaccurate I am about RPG games, let me tell you first: I'm not an RPG player at all. I mean, I've heard of Halo and Call of Duty, but never played them. Unlike all the kids at my school, I'm a little bit of a nerd._

_As much as I wanted to use their human names, I'll probably start using them on the second half of the next chapter, in which everyone will no longer be in the real world for a while. Since this is chapter one, all their adventures start there on the ground floor. Then chapter two will be called "Floor One" as it was in SAO. It's a little different depending on where you live on whether ground floor is in the earth or on it._

_Anyway, if you like it, please let me know. I would really appreciate it._

_EDIT: I made some edits on this chapter, esp. the wording, so I apologise for that. Oh, and thanks for the faves and story alerts! Didn't know this would turn out well!_

* * *

Ground Level: Missing

It was just another day for a world meeting, as it always was on a Friday morning. Each country, out of the powerful eight (except one country present at the time), represented share their problems back home and ask their fellow colleagues for a solution. That was always how things go.

"Okay, today's agenda: how to solve today's current issues throughout the world," Germany began. Representing one of the world's advanced economies, his leadership was often highly respected…unless one disagrees.

"But there's far too many to discuss," America complained, apparently late as he walked through the entrance with one hand carrying a paper bag, "don't you think we should just discuss on just one for today?" He proceeded to sit between France and Russia, who watched sit with a blank expression.

"He's right," France agreed. He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm already having a difficult time with my boss at home. At least we should discuss on how everyone else are doing in Europe, before we go on another subject. If Europe suffers in the long run, so will be America and Japan, along with the other countries who are almost there with their economy."

"Not only that both Spain and I will suffer," Italy added, worried.

"But even if that happens, I don't think there will ever be a away to fix that, Italy," England added. "Not unless all 28 countries agree, it will be impossible."

Germany huffed. "Fine, we'll discuss Europe for today," he replied. Then without any interruption, all the countries present on that meeting listened to each other.

* * *

Halfway through, Italy noticed something was wrong.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt, Germany," he began, as soon as he was called. "But haven't you noticed someone was missing this whole time?"

"I don't think so," Germany replied, putting down his small piles of notes in front of him. "Why?"

"Well, it's just that…Japan has been missing. I haven't seen since this meeting started."

The whole room became silent. Everyone turned to glance at Japan's empty seat, between China and England, as if the person was actually there.

"Well, don't you three live together under the same roof?" France asked, eyeing both Italy and Germany. "When was the last time you saw him?"

"We haven't seen him since last night," Germany explained. "Actually, it was after dinner that we last saw him."

"He said something about playing this role-playing game," Italy continued. "I didn't really understand, since I wasn't listening to him."

"Role-playing game?" America sat up from his seat. Until now, he had fallen asleep. "What is it called?"

"Sword Art Online," Germany responded. "I remember seeing him carrying a box about the size of someone's head. I just assumed it's just a helmet for the game and the console itself."

"I think I know what it looks like," China spoke for the first time. Then he stood up and gently placed a small box on the table. The box was already opened, which contained a helmet that would fit a fully-grown human's head. Although he's not part of the group, he's almost close to joining, since nearly all of what is made came from his country.

"Is this it?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's the one," Italy said, pointing at it. "It's a little different from what Japan had, but it's the same nonetheless."

China slipped the helmet on, which fit him snugly. "I have a good feeling about what this game is," he muttered. "And you decide on what I'm about to tell you, whether this is good or bad."

"Tell us," France queried. "We all need a break from all this world issues anyway."

* * *

"Whatever this Sword Art Online Kiku is playing," China slowly explained, as his hands moved around the headgear and his fingers twirled around the wires, "it will give the player the ultimate experience in role-playing. Beyond the game controllers most children are still used to, and definitely beyond using a keyboard and mouse. It's not where someone watches their player go around town or battle evil creatures, but more like the players are playing in that world itself. _You _will be your own character, including the five senses we're all accustomed to. Even if it's a virtual world, it's no different than living in the real world. When a creature scratches you, you will feel it. If it's RPG, then it will either include other players or on your own; I'm sure America knows enough about this."

"Of course, I do," America agreed, grinning. "It's basically a first-person game, via virtual world. I know most games like these will have a multiplayer setting." Then he paused and widened his eyes at China. "So what you're telling us, that Sword Art Online has a multiplayer system?"

"We won't know until we get a copy of the game," Germany said, standing up. "When was it released?"

"From what I've heard from Kiku two days ago," China replied, "there was a beta on it a month ago, but its full release wasn't until a week ago. If Kiku only got the game yesterday, he's already in trouble."

"Why?" all seven countries asked.

"On the same day the game was released, it turns out about less than 200-250 people died. Apparently from the headgear, called the NerveGear. It sent shock waves through the brain, if you try to remove it by force. And the only way to remove it safely is to beat the game."

"That should be nothing to me," America hushed in excitement. "How levels do I have to beat?"

"Rumour states that you need to beat all 100 levels, including the final boss. Each boss is harder than the last, sometimes almost impossible to beat in a non-virtual world. If you die, you die in real life."

America sat back, disappointed. "I don't think I can do that alone," he replied, "but that doesn't mean I won't stop myself from rescuing Japan."

"We're all thinking the same thing, idiot," England agreed. "And besides, we've been in a similar situation before…"

Silence once more.

* * *

"So does the game support all six languages, China?" Germany asked, switching to another subject. "Most of us here understand English, but it'll be more comfortable for us if we can read our own native language.

"It depends on what language you set the NerveGear on," China explained. He took off his helmet and held it up. "Since the game and gear all came from Japan, it could either come with English or Japanese, but you need to ask if it supports German. I'm sure there are settings for that."

"And you don't need to fuss over on the language barrier in these kinds of games either," America added. "If you set it up in German, only you can read the location, items, and dialogue in that language. So Arthur's settings and mine will be in English. As for communication between players however, the system translates it to the preferred language of another player. If I send Russia a message within the game, he will get it in Russian. And if he replies back, I'll get the reply in English."

"How about killing another player?" Russia finally spoke for the first time. Since the meeting began, he remained silent and hasn't said a word.

"It's the same as committing murder in real life," China simply replied, shuddering a little. "Again, if you kill a player there, you kill him off on the other world. If the other players see you, they will know you're a murderer."

"How can you tell?" Italy asked.

"Red means enemy, yellow means a player killer, and green is merely a player. Simple as that."

"So I guess we hold off the meeting for now and get Japan out of there then?" France added alongside Italy.

"Well, by now, he's already levelled up after days in there. But if he's not, then we might catch up."

"Okay, let's go recuse Japan!" America yelled.

"So what was it that you know so much about RPG games, China?" England asked, as everyone stood up to leave.

"Well, if you have nothing to do, just do what most kids do nowadays…" China replied, shrugging. "If you feel like they're not motivated enough to study, then they'll be in front of a monitor."

And with that, all seven nations rushed out, leaving a certain "eighth" country behind.

Without a word, he also stood up followed the others, his mind the same objective as theirs.

* * *

_I tried making some edits as much as I could, considering this is my first time in FF. Yeah, I did make an account, but I didn't really have a story ready to be uploaded, so I guess for a while my account was empty._

_As for what America said about their "similar situation", I was referring to RomaHeta, which was an RPG game similar to SAO, but they got in there because Dark!Japan or Error is trying to take the world. It's been a while I watched it on YT either, so my memory's a little blurry._

_Still, if you guys send a review telling me something was inaccurate or not right, I'll try to revise it ASAP, but I can't guarantee that. Especially during the summer, I'm always not at home, but going around in another country. And I'm often busy at personal stuff. So I can't make that promise, but I'll still try._

_It's already obvious who the "eighth" country is, so I won't even spill the beans._


	2. NerveGears and Full-Dive

_Whoo, second chapter! But enough about me, let's have a short commentary with the characters. I'll be back at the end of the chapter._

* * *

Level One: Full-Dive into Aincrad

As the countries quickly rushed to any electronic store still selling the game as well as the NerveGear, their hopes of finding such and rescuing Japan slimmed. Days after its release debut, the game was still the most popular overall and worldwide. One could say it "has beaten any RPG game from the past". However, this didn't stop them.

In a certain shop where America regularly goes to buy new games, which is more often than attending world meetings, their prayers were answered. After selling all his old games, since he completed each one, all six countries managed to get the package: the NerveGear game console. Only America bought the game separately.

As for the "eighth" country, he merely took the same as the others, only he wasn't noticed. Luckily, he had the last one.

* * *

Once they reached America's house, which was right beside the game shop, everyone began to set up the NerveGear.

"Okay, since we need Internet to log on," America began, running back into the living room with a USB outlet, "I think. We have until midnight until we all log in. That's five minutes from now." He flipped open his laptop.

"But in case, something happens," England replied, plugging his NerveGear into the outlet, "I think we have to do it early. And about this something, China." He turned to look at the young man. "Once we stay in the game, we can't get out, right? Unless we beat the game..."

China nodded, glancing around as the others plugged their NerveGears in and slipped it on. "Yes," he answered. "But I should warn you: as soon as we're logged in, our real bodies stay in one position. Asleep, but in a coma-like state." He paused for a moment as he lied down between Italy and England. "So once we wake up, all of us would look different than we were before."

"We might end up in a hospital, too," France added, lying beside England. "Just hope that someone does find us..."

"I hope so," Italy agreed, nodding. "If all the countries, including us, meet again for another world meeting, and find us missing, they'll look for us."

"But we need to warn them by leaving a note," China warned, sitting up once more. Taking out a small piece of paper and a pencil from his trousers pocket, he wrote down the warning. "If they try to force out the helmet, we'll die. And even if the power's out, the NerveGear has a battery for backup. But if that battery runs out, then..." He looked disturbed as he shook his head.

There was no need to finish it.

"Okay," America began slowly, switching over to a new subject, "so are we ready then?" Then he slipped on the NerveGear and lied down between Russia and France.

"Yeah, we're all ready," replied the other seven.

"Alright, do we see the clock at our left?" China asked. And, assuming everyone has the feature, he added, "as soon as the clock hits 12:00, close your eyes and yell, 'Link Start!'"

_11:59:56..._

_11:59:57..._

_11:59:58..._

_11:59:59..._

_12:00:00..._

"LINK START!"

There was this feeling of falling headfirst into a white unknown, then through streaks of rainbow, followed by a test screen for all the five senses and a language screen*. After typing in the username and the password, a welcome screen was shown.

_Welcome to Sword Art Online_

Then it was black.

* * *

The sky was blue, with wisps of clouds floating there. Lifting a hand, they examined themselves. They must be lying on a stony ground. Turning to their side, they saw a certain companion lying on their side.

Blond messy hair, obviously bushy eyebrows, green eyes...and seemingly weak armour?

"England?" America asked, sitting up and crawling over to the young man. He shook him until he heard him swearing. "I think we woke up at some square. There are people walking by, but aren't noticing us."

"It's you," England replied, stretching as he sat up. "What's with your outfit?"

America looked down. Similar to England's outfit, his hands wore fingerless black gloves, dark blue trousers, faded red shirt, a breastplate, and black ankle boots. A plain sword is strapped to his back.

"Well, since you've never played this type of game before," America replied, shrugging, "this is usually what you wear when starting out. If you need a better outfit and equipment to protect yourself, you have to improve your skills first." Then by accident, he swiped down with his right hand and out came five small circles vertically lined up.

"Whoa," England noticed, copying him, "I guess this is the menu." He tapped each circle to see what each has.

"Hey, England," America called, "do you feel something feels weird, like someone is with us, but they aren't there?"

"How's that possible?"

"Usually when we all dove in, I suppose one of us had a faulty NerveGear and woke up here apparently transparent."

England shrugged. "Okay," he replied. "If you say so…"

"Hey!"

Both of them turned around and saw Germany, France, and Italy running towards them. Rather than a sword, Germany carries a plain axe, other than his plain outfit (a white long-sleeved tee, grey trousers, matching ankle boots and a breastplate). France has a rapier, which hung from his waist, and wearing a navy-blue shirt, black trousers, brown boots, as well as a hockey breast pad. And Italy has a cutlass strapped behind him and wearing a small breastplate and a long-sleeve white tee underneath, light brown trousers, and dark brown boots.

"Hello, you two," England greeted them. "Did you already know about this?" Motioning his hand downward, he opened the menu.

Germany nodded. "Francis told me how," he replied, opening his. "He did it by accident. Do you want me to add you two?"

"Who's Francis?" America wondered aloud, his voice struggling to prevent any laughter. "It's not you, Italy, right?" He glanced at the young redhead.

"No," Italy replied.

"It's my human name," France stepped in. "I suppose all of us are using the names our bosses gave us. And it would be weird to use our country names, since no one would actually believe that we are literally countries in human form. So in here, call me Francis, alright?" He glared at England.

"Okay, show us how you'd add us then, _Francis_," England retorted, emphasising the name. "If you're that smart..."

Without a word, he swiped open the menu, touched the third button down, opened up the map and clicked the two dots above him. And selecting the "plus" button, he sent a message to both America and England.

"You should be getting them right about..." France said, trailing off for a moment, "now."

Then America and England received a short beep, followed by a short message.

_Francis would like to join your party. _

Both of them accepted the invitation. At the same time, they accepted another "hidden" invitation from a certain country.

_Matthew would like to join your party._

Shortly afterward, America and England did the same to France, so he could add them as well.

"Who's Arthur?" France asked.

Looking away, England raised his hand.

"And Alfred?"

"Me!" America cheerily yelled in reply. Then he frowned. "Okay, let me try doing the same to England."

At that moment, England saw the request.

_Alfred would like to join your party._

Although he couldn't see it, there was another "hidden" invite.

"You know," England replied, "I could've just denied your request because of how annoying you are. But seeing that this is an emergency, I'll help you this one time." The without waiting for a reply, he accepted the request and quickly sent a similar one to America.

_Arthur would like to join your party._

"I could've said the same thing to you." Smirking, America pressed Accept (while accepting the invisible invite). "After that, both of us will forget that this ever happened."

"Now, my turn," Germany said.

Soon enough, America and England received a message.

_Ludwig would like to join your party._

"Ludwig's your human name?" America asked, pressing the accept button. "I'm pretty sure I've heard that name before. Wasn't that guy deaf?"

"Do you even listen to any other music besides the crap you listen to?" England rolled his eyes. "At least he had some musicians who can write." He pointed to Germany.

"You don't need to say that, though," Germany replied, shaking his head. "There were other people who bore the same name as me. But yes, that's my human name."

"But it matches you so well!" America added. "In a good way."

"Now, it's my turn!" Italy spoke up. "Make sure you add me, too!"

Within seconds, both America and England heard a beep and opened the menu.

_Feliciano would like to join your party._

Both of them pressed "Accept". And once finished, did the same to Italy, who gladly accepted the two.

"So, where do we start?" Italy asked.

"Don't you think we should know how to use the weapons we had first," Germany suggested, "before we do anything else?"

"He's right, Arthur," America agreed. "Other than China and me, I don't think you know how to use a virtual weapon."

"But it shouldn't be any different than using a literal sword, right?" Francis wondered, tapping the pommel of his rapier.

"Look, let's just find China and Russia and add them as our friends before we learn the controls," England interrupted. "I know we all wanted to get better, but we have to find those two first. Out of us six, we don't fully trust those two, alone or together. And besides, Japan's probably at the higher floors by now."

"Let's go!" America ran ahead of the group. "Once we find those two, let's go practice and get you guys used to using your weapons."

Searching around for two people might seem easy, but the ground floor alone is almost like a country in terms of size. Within an hour, Russia and China are still nowhere to be found.

"This is impossible," England said, panting. His hands were already on his knees. "It's already been an hour. Where the hell are they?"

"And since we haven't added them," Germany added, scanning the menu for any possible players nearby, "we can't track them down either. From what I could tell about this city, it's rather huge."

"Maybe if we hear someone talking in Chinese or Russian," France suggested. "We might know it's them."

"But none of us know either languages, only our own," America replied. "If we see someone really tall, that's Russia."

* * *

The six young men walked along the streets, examining each stall for some curio or any valuable item for trade. They watched a young boy around their age paying the merchant (who was a player as well) for an apple for a few coins before running off. The boy had better equipment than all of them were, which greatly annoyed them.

"So it's no different than the outside world, then," Germany spoke up for the first time after nearly two hours of searching.

"What?" England asked.

"Having to pay for anything with money. To get something, you pay the required amount." Then Germany paused. "So how exactly do you get money?"

America stopped in his steps, as he was the leader, and faced them. "It's the same when you need to improve your skills and your armour," he simply answered. "You defeat the boss, or hunt for animals." And without a word, he turned around.

When he saw a familiar tall figure not far from where they stood.

"Russia!" America called out to the figure, which was at one of the stalls, paying the merchant. He ran ahead without anyone stopping him.

"Hello, everyone," Russia replied. Thanking the merchant, he faced America. "Have you found China yet?" he asked France, wide-eyed. "I haven't seen him."

France shivered for a moment. "No luck," he responded. "We were looking for him too."

"Look like you've been on your own for a while now," Germany noticed at Russia's attire.

Unlike them, Russia wore a long red coat, black trousers, black boots, and a white scarf. But what surprised them the most was the sword hanging from his waist. Its blade was broader than a normal sword, based on the scabbard that held it.

"Where did you find all these?" England wondered. "It doesn't look like the clothes we've been wearing since we came here."

"I've been hunting, yes," Russia explained. "I hunted on the meadows just outside the city. After defeating a wild coyote, I managed to get this coat. And after hunting for a bear, deep in the woods, I got this sword. I'm still getting used to wielding it, though. But I threw away my first sword." He unsheathed his sword and hit a brick wall beside him, leaving a slight scratch on the bricks. "And because we're all looking for the same person, I thought I should add all of you."

Once Russia was finished, they felt a slight shiver down their spine. Even Germany felt a little afraid and jealous that Russia had already improved his skills on his own. He felt as if Russia already picked up the controls before everyone else had. And although he knew his older brother, Prussia, does nothing but play video games nowadays, most of those games purchased were released only to very few people for beta testing; it's done so to make sure the developers did nothing wrong while making the game.

_Ivan would like to join your party._

_Ivan?_ Germany thought. He glanced at the Russian with suspicion, before looking at the others, who had already accepted him. _His bosses named him after the notorious king, the Terrible? But I'll hold off on that…for now I need to figure out how he managed to improve his skills within a short time…_Taking a deep breath, he pressed "Accept".

"Uh, Ludwig?" America's voice rang inside Germany's head, throwing him back into reality. "You alright, dude?"

"What?" Germany asked aloud.

"I thought you were lagging after you let Russia join the party," America explained.

"I'm not. I just spaced out for some reason."

"And my name's Ivan in this game, yes," Russia warned. He glared at America.

Silence.

"Come on, let's find China before it gets dark," England broke in. Then pointed something behind him with his thumb.

"And since you're much better than we are, Ivan," Germany suggested, "why not go in front of us?"

"I don't think anyone will attack you within the city's borders, yes," Ivan replied. "It's a safe area anyway."

"If that's true, then," France answered, "maybe I'll try to lead. But you guys help out, too."

With that, France walked ahead of the group, with America trailing behind him and Russia at the back of the group.

As for Germany, he still didn't trust Russia at all.

* * *

As they walked deeper into the alleys, the sky was already dark and the lanterns are being lit up.

"Great, so far China's still nowhere to be found," England muttered. "And it's getting dark!" He strode up to America. "What are we going to do now, Alfred?" he asked angrily.

"Maybe some of us should find a place to stay for the night," Italy advised. Since Russia joined the group, he was silent and stayed beside Germany as close as he could…and still is at that moment. "The inns are probably full by now."

"We'll do it, once we find China," America replied. He turned to Italy. "And even if you find a place to stay, we don't even know how to find you."

"Shh," France hushed at them.

"What do you mean by that?" England asked.

"Shut up, I think I hear something," France replied.

And nearby was someone speaking a very foreign language. Soon enough, the entire group quickly rushed toward the source and found the person they had been searching for, after 4 hours into full-dive.

"China!" Italy cried out. He ran towards the young man and threw his arms around him. "We thought you already went without us!" Then he released him.

"Where have you been?" America asked. "We've been looking for you!"

"I've been wandering around here, looking for something of interest," China explained.

"Like...?" France interrupted.

"Well, we need to assign roles. Since this is a role-playing game, some of us need to be a healer, a substitute, and a strategist."

"He's right," America agreed. "We all can't be just mere fighters. That's not going to bring us any progress. But we'll think about that once we find a place to stay." He turned to China. "So you've been searching for any healing potion this whole time?"

China nodded. "I know I should've joined you first," he added. "But even if we are in a group, we are on our own. We decide ourselves on what to do." He looked at Russia. "That's why he's already levelled up ever since we dove into the game."

"Well, since everyone's here, why don't we add you to the party?" England advised.

After the seven countries sent their requests to China, who accepted them through a very simple method (selecting all of the requests and pressing "Accept" all at once, including the "transparent" one), they were given the same message in return.

_Yao would like to join your party._

"Yao is a pretty cool name," America said, pressing accept. "It's a compliment," he quickly added, when China stared at him.

"Fine," China mumbled. "Okay, let's find an inn and stay there for tonight. Tomorrow we leave for the fields."

"Sounds like a good plan," France agreed.

"Since I managed to earn some money, I'll pay for it," Ivan added, drawing out a very small bag. "But next time, we pay our own share."

* * *

_* info for all countries_

_America, Canada, England: Language English_

_China: Language __中文_

_France: Language Français_

_Germany: Language Deutsch_

_Italian: Language Italiano_

_Japan: Language __日本_

_Russia: Language Русский_

_For all languages beside English, this will be the confirmation screen:_

_"__Are you sure this is the user's preferred language?"_

_Depending on what language the user used, it will be on that language. All the requests, items, and messages will be set. _

_Because of the incident within the opening day of the game, in which every user will reveal their true identity, including their faces, every user will be as they are._

_At all times, the characters must be called by their country names (full formal, full informal, native). And their real names were confidential by their bosses for that reason. Only their real first name was used in the game. And only after the game will they be able to revert back to their country name._

* * *

_While they were adding each other, all the invitations they sent to one other all came with a "hidden and transparent" invite right underneath. For example:_

_Alfred would like to join your party._

_Matthew would like to join your party._

_Canada is pretty much a glitch character. Because of the fact that he's in sage mode, so the system in which the NerveGear operates on made him both a game guide and a character with fighting and healing roles._

_So he's a very important character…and because he's in sage mode in the game, no one can see him (including boss monsters). He's pretty much like Yui from SAO._

_Anyway, fave/follow/review if you want to continue. I hate to admit it, but it gets harder after this chapter. Because everyone is pretty much are going to improve their skills, which is so impossible to write. _

_Also let me know if I screwed up on some parts. Usually I write these when I'm staying up late._


	3. Agility, Strength, and Backup

_Hello again. I'm back for another chapter._

_EDIT: Okay, I have to say thank to Koneko L. Taigo for letting me know about everyone suddenly finding out Japan's name...Again, it's the fact that I stay up late into the night writing these chapters. Sometimes I just revise a little bit before uploading it, so yeah. Thank you._

_I added more stuff after Feliciano asked how come Arthur can't "sense" Kiku/Japan if he, Arthur, has that ability, so this is where everyone kinda decides on how they should refer to Japan without using his country name._

* * *

Floor Two: Another World Meeting…in Aincrad

After paying for the night's lodging (since Ivan wanted to have a room for himself), all of them held a small meeting in one of rooms (shared between Arthur and Alfred, but with separate beds).

"Okay, so first off," Alfred began, "we need a plan. I know Yao said something about assigning our roles. And he's right."

"So how does it work?" Francis wondered aloud. "Is it the same as a real-life battle?"

Yao nodded. "Yes," he replied. "It does. If we know each other's battle style and weapon, we might determine who gets the first few strikes and who will deal the final blow on the enemy."

"We'll find out tomorrow who gets what," Alfred added. "But I suppose Yao and I could tell what will be your role at first." He turned to Yao. "Right?"

Yao smiled. "Yeah," he answered.

"First, Francis and Feliciano, both of you have really light swords, which is really helpful especially for the first strikes," Alfred pointed out. "If it's possible, you can buy time for the others while dealing some damage at the same time. The damage won't be great, but you can stun the enemies." He turned to Ludwig. "Did Feliciano ever did something at a quick pace before?" he asked.

"He usually takes everything at a slow pace," Ludwig explained, "but when you trigger his "fear" mechanism, like he won't have any siesta if he doesn't exercise, then he might run faster than he normally would. I guess he has this huge stamina stored inside him whenever he goes to sleep during the day."

"Perfect. Then both he and Francis will be on the front lines. As the starting group in battle, agility and haste should be their main attribute. Their job will be primarily to give us time to prepare for the next phase, which brings us to another topic.

To kill the enemy, at least two or three players should give their best shot in dealing great damage. Now these players should have strength as one of their attributes and are the ones that take more time to recover their energy until they could strike again. Ivan and Ludwig would fall into the category, with Ivan's huge sword and Ludwig's double-headed battle-axe. Low dexterity, but high amounts of force, you guys are the opposite of Francis and Feliciano."

"But in case something unexpected happens," Yao continued, "like one of us gets hurt or there's a trap, there should be two other people who will back them up. And since our goal here is not die before we could even reach Kiku, Arthur and I will be the backup. Our attacks and defences might be lower than all of you, but should be enough to fight against the enemy. But besides being a reserve, Arthur and I will have another role. Arthur will have the trait of sensing danger as well as detect any character or trap within the game, but because this game doesn't involve any magic of some kind, I don't think spells will be helpful. And I will have the ability to figure out how we can increase our level and what we can do about it.

"Wait, if Arthur can sense a character," Feliciano asked, "how come he couldn't "tell" where Japan is?"

"It's obvious," Yao replied. "Right now, Arthur has a really low level of "knowing" where he is, so the higher the level is, the stronger it gets. Just like all our abilities here. If we keep improving, then surely our skills will level up as well as our defence. By now, he's already at a much higher level than all of us here, including Ivan."

"Yao's right," Ivan agreed, nodding. "I'm only at Level 3."

Alfred's eyes widened. "Already?" he asked. "No wonder your sword and armour are much better compared to ours."

"Still, we don't know how we'll call Japan," Feliciano insisted. "We don't know his human name (since he's never told Ludwig and I in real life), how powerful he's become, and what he's wearing."

"That's true," Francis agreed. "Do you think we should come up with a nickname for him, until he finally find him? We can't just call him his country name."

"How about Miku?" Feliciano suggested. "I heard him mumbling it over and over in his room one time."

"Sounds like a girl name," Arthur replied. "How about we just refer to him as his country's capital, Tokyo?"

"I guess that will do," Alfred replied, nodding. "So from this day on, until we find Japan ourselves, we will refer to him as Tokyo!"

"Tokyo, it is, then," Ivan agreed.

Then silence.

* * *

"So let's go back to what we're supposed to do while we're here," Yao began, switching everyone back into the main topic.

"Despite our positive attributes," he added, "we have our disadvantage. Like all RPG games, a character both has some good things, as well as bad ones.

We'll start with the agility/haste group, Feliciano and Francis. Although both of them have speed and endurance as their strength, their weakness is that their damage is really low. It's true that they have high hit points toward the enemy, but even after 100 hits it would be just a small scratch on them. From what I know about these enemies (as with all RPG), they are huge and monstrous and can bring fatal blows to them. So what they should be concerned of the most is their defence. If they can do that, they might fight against the same enemy more than once.

Now we'll shift to the strength group, Ludwig and Ivan. If Feliciano and Francis' weakness is the fact that their damage is low, you have it otherwise. Out of all seven of us, you have the highest number of potential damage to deal on your enemies. So if your attack power is your advantage, your stamina isn't. With one blow, it's takes away pretty much a huge amount of your energy, which is really hard to build up based on your current level. Ivan is at a higher level than Ludwig, but even that's not enough against a typical boss monster. Both of you will only fight one time because of this. But if necessary, we might use you mid-battle…so we could gain some upper hand. What you need to worry about until then is to find a way to recover your stamina faster while keeping your defences high.

As for the Healer/Finder/Backup group, Arthur and I, we have the largest disadvantage out of the two groups. Because our role of mostly to help out you guys, our defence and attack are low compared to either the agility or even the strength groups. So throughout the battle, both of us will mostly likely be alongside the strength group since they defence is higher. If an enemy's attack is aimed towards us, we'll have Ludwig and Ivan take care of that. It won't drain away their stamina, however, but their health will reduce a little. Yet our advantage varies from boosting up health and stamina to keeping the enemy at bay, as well as judge on the enemy's attributes and surroundings."

"Hang on," Francis interrupted. "I think we forgot about Alfred. How about him?"

"Because you asked," Alfred explained, "my role can change from someone with strength to agility. I don't know why, but I guess it's my experience with playing these kinds of games. But still my role isn't any special from anyone else in this room. The fact that I'm the youngest here is irrelevant. The same thing for Yao; he plays these games just as much as I do, but he knows more than I do. But unlike him and Arthur, I can't recover anyone or sense any danger. I can sense how one feels, keep attacking without getting tired, land a damaging blow without wasting any energy, but I can't heal someone else."

"So just what kind of character are you, then?" Arthur asked, smirking. "Don't tell us you're the leader here. Just because your attributes can change from one thing to another."

"Maybe just someone with a high willpower, who won't let anything stop him from saving his friend," Alfred replied, shrugging. "A strategist, maybe?"

"Close enough." Ludwig shrugged. "If you know much about how to attack a boss, then maybe that's your role, after all."

"So his priority is not to get us killed, then," Ivan spoke up. "I won't like it if anyone of us dies."

"I don't want to die," Feliciano whined. "But I'll try my best."

"So that's the plan," Yao stood up to leave. "We leave at dawn and spend the morning practicing, okay?"

Minutes later, only Alfred and Arthur remained.

"I wonder how you managed to get that many roles," Arthur said to Alfred, as they turned in for the night. "It's not like the system had a glitch on you when you logged in."

"I don't really know, Arthur," Alfred replied. "But maybe it is."

As for "Matthew", he decided to fall asleep with his head on a small desk across the room. Unlike the others, he was more than just a character in a game.

_I'll do anything to get them through any challenges _he thought. _I'm their guide for this game. I have the largest advantage above everyone else…_

* * *

_Basic traits for each character:_

_Francis (Lvl. 1) - Strength: High Agility/Charisma; Weakness: Low Attack Damage; Weapon: Rapier (will be his main weapon of choice throughout)_

_Feliciano (Lvl. 1) – Strength: High Agility/Charisma; Weakness: Low Damage; Weapon: Cutlass (will change into Rapier later on)_

_Ludwig (Lvl. 1) – Strength: High Attack Damage/Defence; Weakness: Large Stamina Decrease (for each attack)/Agility; Weapon: Labrys (will change into a Flail with a large Morning Star)_

_Ivan (Lvl. 3) – Strength: High Attack Damage/Defence; Weakness: Large Stamina Decrease/Agility; Weapon: Large Broadsword (currently), Long sword (former)_

_Arthur (Lvl. 1) – Strength: High Perception/Alertness; Weakness: Low Attack/Defence (due to his role as a reserve); Weapon: Small sword (similar to rapier, will change to Cutlass)_

_Yao (Lvl. 1) – Strength: High Intelligence/Psyche; Weakness: Low Attack/Defence; Weapon: Dao (will change into Jian)_

_Alfred (Lvl. 1) – Strength: High Agility/Attack Damage/Endurance/Willpower; Weakness: Low Perception; Weapon: Claymore (will change into Long-sword)_

_Matthew (Lvl. 1) – Strength: High Psyche/Perception/Luck; Weakness: Low Presence/Endurance/Attack Damage; Weapon: None_

_Kiku (Lvl. ?) – Strength: ?; Weakness: ?; Weapon: ?_

_As of now, Kiku's current status is unknown._

* * *

_I wanted to create this little note at the end of each chapter, which describes the characters' current information. I don't know if it will help you guys, but hopefully it does give you some updates on how our heroes are doing within SAO._

_Now I have to point out some things from this chapter. First of all, although Alfred and Co. didn't find Yao until the end of the previous chapter, his level didn't really increase, since all he did the entire time is explore the town. Whereas Ivan, who was only introduced two-thirds of the way into chapter 2, was already at a higher level than everyone. And before you go all apeshit and say something like "Ivan must a beta player or a beater or blah", Ivan didn't do anything else. All he did since he woke up in Aincrad was getting know the mechanics of the game, primarily how to move one's weapon around and kill an enemy (similar to Klein trying to kill a wild boar in SAO, ep. 1) to gain some rewards. But then again, Ivan might have other reasons…_

_Another thing is the weapon carried by each character. These are subject to change in later chapter, since I already gave myself a note on what each will have as they improve. I don't know much about sword types myself, but I did try my best to match the attributes of each person, esp. their physical traits. It would make sense for both Francis and Feliciano to use a rapier of two things – France and Italy (as literal countries, not humanised) were known to have schools of fencing in the 18__th__ c. which replaced the Spanish school (which declined in the 15__th__ c.) and both countries had almost the same number of fencers who competed in the sport at the Olympic level (and in turn were legends within their respective countries). I don't have to explain about Ludwig and Ivan's physical attributes, don't I? It's rather obvious anyway. Yao and Arthur's weapons are ranged between the lightweight and heavyweight, but they give enough damage and thus often fulfil their role in battle. And since Alfred is pretty much a mix of quick and powerful, his weapon has to be something that allows him to attack easily and still deal some damage._

_As for Matthew, well…he doesn't have a weapon because he doesn't need one. Why would he carry a sword if no one can see him anyway? But that may change later on..._

_Finally, Kiku's current information is unknown. The reason why Kiku's level, strength, weakness, and weapon are unknown is because it's so easy to notice. No one knows where Kiku is right now. Let alone know how wide the skill gap is between him and the others. Not only that, Kiku himself doesn't know that his friends are in SAO at that moment, just a 1.5 days after they found out he was missing. So by now his level is already a two-digit number, and his weapon much more powerful than Ivan's broadsword._

_Besides their weapons, their attires will change over time, too. Right now, almost everyone's armour is just a simple outfit. Ivan's attire will de different, too, even if right now his outfit is better unlike the others._


	4. Levelling Up by Defeating Wild Boars

_Okay, as I've said in my profile (not sure if everyone actually reads each other's profile here, but whatever), I'll be on a semi-hiatus because school's just started. I'm pretty sure in other countries it's the same. So for now, this will be the last chapter until I come back during the holidays, which should be around mid-December…after the finals. I'll still try to put together the new chapter, if I can find time…so yeah, I'll end up writing two-lines of it probably at the last 10 pages of my notebook. Or my phone, just anything where I can write with my pen._

_And thanks again to Koneko. Yep, you're pretty much my friend after PM-ing each other for days. Um, well, since this is my last chapter, I hope you enjoy it._

_Oh, the first part of the chapter, true story with my roommate...on the first day of school, which was on Monday._

_As always, review/fave/follow. I own nothing here. I'm just a university student with no job._

* * *

Floor Three: How to Charge-up and Run Around with a Weapon by Ivan

For the young men who had awoken, morning seemed to come a little bit too fast.

"What the-?" Alfred yelled, leaping off from the bed and quickly slipped on his boots. "Morning already?"

"What?" Arthur repeated, following suit. "Why didn't you wake me up, you bloody idiot? I thought you made an alarm for the time!"

"How should I know? I'm not even close to managing the mechanics that well!"

"Ugh, let's go outside. They must be in the fields by now."

Running down the stairs of the inn and into the street (with the "hidden" being just behind them), they sprinted towards the meadow fields just at the outskirts of the city.

"Alfred, Arthur," Francis called them, waving as they approached them. "I thought you two would never wake up."

"We're just about to start," Feliciano added, tapping the pommel of his cutlass. "Ivan's going to show us how to attack."

"Ivan?" Alfred asked, glancing at Ivan, who was talking with Yao.

"You've got to be kidding," Arthur replied. "Out of all the people, it has to be him?" he hissed to Francis.

"He knows more about it than all seven of us are," Francis muttered back. "And it won't be long now…if we all get it the first time."

* * *

"Good morning," Ivan began. He stood in front of everyone as he greeted the others with a smile. "Yao has asked me to let me demonstrate everyone on how to use our weapons and how to attack.

"Like everyone here, I didn't know how to move your weapon around and land a successful attack on an enemy. Depending on what type of weapon each of you carries, each type has a different preference. Some can be attacked with two hands and some with only one hand, based on the weight. Thin-bladed swords is a little easier to attack with, but as what Yao said before, it deals little to no damage; thick-bladed swords as well as axes is just the opposite, so I won't go into details.

"Now, when you'll try to attack, the very first thing you have to do is to position yourself within the ranges of your enemy." Then pointed to a wild boar running around close by. "Let's try it on a wild boar. They may seem harmless, but they're just as dangerous and will drain your health if they knock you over."

Walking towards the blue wild boar, he unsheathed his sword. Then he spread his feet apart, with his left foot forward and his right foot supporting his weight behind him, as well as his shoulders. He made sure he was balancing himself with the sword in his right hand and his left hand in front of him. Shifting his movement a little, his sword started to glow into a bluish colour.

"If you can see a blue glow on my sword," he added, "it means your weapon is charging up. It fills up quickly, so the timing is what matters next. All you have to do is look for a weak spot on the enemy. In this case…" He trailed off and began to run toward the boar.

"It's the wild boar!" he finished with a roar. With that, he shoved his blade into the belly of the small beast, jumped upward while slicing it apart and, removing his sword from the creature, landed on his feet. Behind him, the fragmented thing turned into a red silhouette before turning into many crystal pieces as it disappeared.

"Well done, Ivan," he whispered to himself in Russian. Then he stood up and slipped his sword back into its sheath, as he checked his results.

_Result_

_Exp 12_

_Col 28_

_Items 1_

For the others who had witnessed it, they couldn't help but wonder if Ivan had intended himself to practice these movements rather than trying to find his friends. They wondered if he had other motives besides finding Japan, whose name was now referred to as Japan's literal capital name, Tokyo.

"So it's the same as fighting in a real swordfight?" Francis asked. "Shouldn't be any different for me, then?"

Ivan nodded. "Yes," he answered. "It will take some getting used, but hopefully over time, the skills will improve as well."

"I shouldn't be surprised why there are experience points earned after a battle," Alfred agreed. "And I'm certain you get money from the foe you kill. How would you know?"

"From the rumours I've heard around town," Yao explained, "Col is the currency around Aincrad. So it's the same for the Euro, Dollar, Rouble, Yuan, and Yen in our world. Right now, 28 Cols won't get you anything…not even a small health potion, which is about 140 Cols at least for the cheap ones."

"So I guess we should level up through these wild boards, huh?" Feliciano asked, wielding out his rapier. "It's been a while since I've held a sword, but it shouldn't be any different." Then without a word, he ran off to a small herd of boars.

"But that doesn't mean you should act recklessly!" Ludwig shouted at him, as he caught up to him.

"Ah, even the backups need their training, too," Arthur muttered to himself, before joining Alfred.

Yao and Ivan quietly did their part in levelling up.

* * *

After two hours of practising, each character's level was already close to a two-digit number. The number of Cols they earned gradually increased into thousands and they already had a good supply of items in their inventory.

"Tomorrow, we'll try to find the dungeon," Yao explained to everyone. "There's a chance the boss will be there. If we can defeat it, our hopes of finding Tokyo will increase." Glancing at each face, all determined, he added, "Now that we're in all this together, I have two things to tell all of you before we meet here tomorrow.

"Alfred might know of this skill, being an experienced RPG player himself, but if you need time to recover your stamina and someone to fill you in during a battle, you have to yell out "Switch!" followed by someone's name. In a team of two, which is the minimum number you can get (unless you're in a large group), saying someone's name isn't needed. The system will know that the other player will take care of the enemy for you, once you yell it out."

"Since all of us here added each other as friends, we're very much a party. In this case, we're a guild now. Anyway, because we're now a small guild, anyone can be called to the front lines, should one of us be in a condition in which they need to be away from battle while they heal up. That's why all of us should be on par with each other…our Experience points, levels, attacks and defences, and armour."

He paused and looked up at the sky.

"And the other one…" he began. "I hope none of you dies before all of us reach Tokyo. Whatever the reason Tokyo is in this game, we have to find him.

"So all I'm saying is…

"Good luck, all of you."

Without a word, he placed his hand in front of him. Soon enough everyone's hands were piled on top of each other.

"To Tokyo," Yao said.

"To Tokyo!" they replied, before lifting their hands into the air.

* * *

_Basic traits for each character (updated 3 Sept. 20XX – current year is classified):_

_Francis (Lvl. 6)  
Strength: High Agility/Charisma  
Weakness: Low Attack Damage  
Weapon: Rapier (will be his main weapon of choice throughout)  
Skills (New): One-Handed Rapier (Lvl. 5), Sprint (Lvl. 3), Parry (Lvl. 4), Acrobat (Lvl. 3), Light Metal Equipment (Lvl. 3)  
Weapon Skill (New): Linear (Lvl. 3), Quadruple Pain (Lvl. 3)_

_Feliciano (Lvl. 6)  
Strength: High Agility/Charisma  
Weakness: Low Damage  
Weapon: Cutlass (will change into Rapier later on)  
Skills (New): One-Handed Rapier (Lvl. 5), Sprint (Lvl. 4), Parry (Lvl. 3)  
Weapon Skill (New): Linear (Lvl. 4), Shooting Star (Lvl. 4)_

_Ludwig (Lvl. 7)  
Strength: High Attack Damage/Defence  
Weakness: Large Stamina Decrease (for each attack)/Agility  
Weapon: Labrys (will change into a Flail with a large Morning Star)  
Skills (New): Two-Handed Battle Axe (Lvl. 6), Sprint (Lvl. 3), Heavy Metal Equipment (Lvl. 2)  
Weapon Skill (New): Whirlwind (Lvl. 5)_

_Ivan (Lvl. 8)  
Strength: High Attack Damage/Defence  
Weakness: Large Stamina Decrease/Agility  
Weapon: Large Broadsword (currently), Long sword (former)  
Skill (New): Two-Handed Sword (Lvl. 6), Sprint (Lvl. 4), Heavy Metal Equipment (Lvl. 3)  
Weapon Skill (New): Avalanche (Lvl. 5), Cyclone (Lvl. 4), Back Rush (Lvl. 1)_

_Arthur (Lvl. 7)  
Strength: High Perception/Alertness  
Weakness: Low Attack/Defence (due to his role as a reserve)  
Weapon: Small sword (similar to rapier, will change to Cutlass)  
Skill (New): One-Handed Sword (Lvl. 4), Knife Throwing (Lvl. 3), Lock picking (Lvl. 1), Straining (Lvl. 1), Reveal (Lvl. 1), Searching (Lvl. 1), Battle Healing (Lvl. 1)  
Weapon Skill (New): Rage Spike (Lvl. 2), Sonic Leap (Lvl. 3), Vertical Arc (Lvl. 3), Single Shot (Lvl. 3); _

_Yao (Lvl. 7)  
Strength: High Intelligence/Psyche  
Weakness: Low Attack/Defence  
Weapon: Dao (will change into Jian)  
Skill (New): One-Handed Straight Sword (Lvl. 5), Two-Handed Sword (Lvl. 3), Battle Healing (Lvl. 1), Emergency Recovery (Lvl. 1), Thrust/Slash/Blunt Weapon Forging (all Lvl. 1), Light/Heavy Metal Armour Repairing (all Lvl. 1), Parry (Lvl. 1), Acrobat (Lvl. 3)  
Weapon Skill (New): Avalanche (Lvl. 2), Horizontal Slash (Lvl. 3), Sharp Nail (Lvl. 3), Vertical Slash (Lvl. 4)_

_Alfred (Lvl. 8)  
Strength: High Agility/Attack Damage/Endurance/Willpower  
Weakness: Low Perception; Weapon: Claymore (will change into Long-sword)  
Skills (New): One-Handed Sword (Lvl. 6), Two-Handed Sword (Lvl. 2), Sprint (Lvl. 5), Fighting Spirit (Lvl. 5), Hiding (Lvl. 3), Tracking (Lvl. 3), Sprint (Lvl. 5), Acrobatics (Lvl. 5)  
Weapon Skill (New): Slash (Lvl. 5), Vertical Square (Lvl. 3), Uppercut (Lvl. 4), Vorpal Strike (Lvl. 3), Sonic Leap (Lvl. 5)_

_Matthew (Lvl. 6)  
Strength: High Psyche/Perception/Luck  
Weakness: Low Presence/Endurance/Attack Damage  
Weapon: None  
Skills (New): Reveal (Lvl. 3), Straining (Lvl. 4), Night Vision (Lvl. 1), Battle Healing (Lvl. 2), Hiding (Lvl. 2), Emergency Recovery (Lvl. 2)  
Weapon Skills (New): None, as this player has no weapon equipped or found in their inventory_

_Kiku/Tokyo (Lvl. ?)  
Strength: ?  
Weakness: ?  
Weapon: ?  
Skills (New): ?  
Weapon Skill (New): ?_

_Added: Characters' Skills and Weapon Skills_

* * *

_Okay, so like I've said in the previous chapter, I'll try my best in updating the characters' data. It's just my way of keeping a note to myself on their progress within Aincrad. You don't have to painstakingly read through all of them each time, but if you must, then okay. _

_Now I didn't go over each category last time, because I just rushed through writing the entire last chapter and this one as well, so I'll go over it here:_

_Strength/Weakness: what is something a character has an advantage/disadvantage of_

_Weapon: is the character carrying a sword or an axe?_

_Skills: what they can do other than fight monsters?/what are their abilities?_

_Weapon Skill: moves using their equipped weapons_

_Each of the characters' Weapon Skills and Character Skills are installed into their Skill Slots (which allows up to about 15 skills). As of this chapter, Yao has used up all of his Skill slots and has the most Skills, while Ludwig only has four Skills. It's possible to delete the Skill, but it's unknown how…maybe deleting it from the characters' Skills menu?_

_Next chapter: Well, now that everyone has enough money, let's go back to the City of Beginnings and find a place to buy new clothes. And with everyone's Skills now higher than before, would it be enough to defeat the Boss of Floor One, Illfang?_


End file.
